Other Titles • Over the Edge • Wut im Bauch (1980)
Synopses for Over the Edge (1979)
1.
A real story of teenage rebellion. "Tomorrow's city...today" is how the planned suburban paradise of New Granada promotes itself, but something has been left out of the plans. No one is paying attention to the town's teens. Jonathan Kaplan directs this hot-blooded cult classic (a 1979 London Film Festival Outstanding Film Award winner) about kids left to discover their own values and coming up with enough drugs, booze and discontent to push everyone Over the Edge. Fourteen-year-old Matt Dillon makes his screen debut as the kids' charismatic, doomed leader Richie. The anthemic soundtrack by Van Halen, The Ramones, Cheap Trick and others provide the film's rock-n-roll heart.
2.
Return to the pre-Internet days of 1979, when teens had KISS on their T-shirts and Led Zeppelin on their walls (wait, other than the high-waisted pants, that could be today). Richie (Matt Dillon in an electrifying debut) and Carl (Michael Kramer) are two such teens stuck in the planned community of New Granada (rural Colorado). Richie is a two-bit hood in Jackie Earle Haley (Bad News Bears) mode. Carl, his partner in mischief (breaking curfew, setting off firecrackers), comes from a more stable environment. Once a gun enters the picture, petty crime leads to tragedy and then apocalyptic revenge. Over the Edge gets the details right: the kids, the era, and their frustration with an uncomprehending adult world. At times, it almost feels like documentary, except for a few moments of high Kubrick-meets-Walter Hill drama, as when Carl gets jumped by a couple of hoods, including Vincent Spano (Baby It's You). Directed by Jonathan Kaplan (The Accused) and shot by Andrew Davis (The Fugitive), Over the Edge was unavailable for too long and deserves to find the same audience as other teen rebellion classics like co-writer Tim Hunter's River's Edge. The period-perfect soundtrack ups the ante with potent tracks from Cheap Trick, the Ramones, and the Cars. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
3.
The suburban enclave of New Grenada appears to be quiet and idyllic. But for its teenage residents, it is a wasteland, where there is nothing to do, and literally nowhere to go. As a result, many of them have turned to using drugs and committing crimes. And Carl, a young, decent, but impressionable teen, is about to fall under these influences, guided by his older "friend" Richie. Will Carl allow himself to become another one of New Grenada's aimless, rebellious youth? Or will he realize what a poor example Richie and his friends are?
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